Report: Migrant kids not held in freezing-cold cells

NOGALES, AZ - JUNE 18: Detainees are escorted to an area to make phone calls as hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center on June 18, 2014, in Nogales, Arizona. Brownsville, Texas, and Nogales, have been central to processing the more than 47,000 unaccompanied children who have entered the country illegally since Oct. 1. (AP)
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Story Highlights

A preliminary report finds no evidence migrant kids are being abused while in DHS custody

Migrant children have complained of being held in ice cold cells without blankets and other abuses

The ACLU says the interim report indicates the complaints are not being taken seriously

Federal inspectors say they found no evidence that migrant children caught crossing the border illegally were kept in freezing-cold holding cells without blankets by the Border Patrol.

An interim report also said the government could not confirm complaints made by human-rights groups that the cells were sometimes too hot, that toilets were filthy and that there was a lack of adequate food and drinking water.

The allegations of abuse were contained in a lengthy complaint filed in June by several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and National Immigrant Justice Center.

But on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General released a preliminary report showing that inspectors were unable to substantiate 16 specific complaints involving toilets, drinking water, food, emergency medical care, temperature control and other issues.

The complaints came amid an unprecedented surge in unaccompanied children and families from Central America being apprehended earlier this year by the Border Patrol, mostly in southern Texas.

As of Sunday, 66,127 unaccompanied minors have been apprehended this fiscal year along the southwestern border, up 88 percent from the same period last year, according to the Border Patrol.

Of those apprehended this year, 85 percent have been caught by the Border Patrol in Texas.

The report was based on 57 unannounced site visits to 41 Customs and Border Protection facilities along the Texas border conducted from July 17 through Aug. 20.

Inspectors also visited the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, N.M., where migrant families apprehended by the Border Patrol are being held.

Inspectors "did not observe misconduct or inappropriate conduct by DHS employees during our unannounced site visits," the report said.

The findings were presented to the U.S. Attorney Office, which found no criminal activities, the report said.

The report noted that the most common complaint from unaccompanied minors while being held in DHS custody involved the temperature inside facilities.

Some migrant children reported being too cold while others reported being too hot.

Inspectors found that most facilities they visited unannounced were in compliance with federal laws, regulations and policies for holding children. The inspectors, however, did find that the temperatures inside the facilities were inconsistent and that in some facilities DHS employers cannot adjust thermostats.

In all facilities they visited, inspectors found that disposable blankets or cloth blankets were available.

Inspectors found that most facilities are cleaned by contractors at least once a day and that at two facilities, DHS officials clean toilets themselves, if needed.

The inspectors also found that food had improved and that the Border Patrol is providing at least one hot meal a day to migrant children. In some facilities, they are providing two or more hot meals.

James Lyall, an attorney with the ACLU of Arizona, said he is concerned the preliminary report shows that the Department of Homeland Security is not taking the complaints seriously "or acknowledging that these are long-standing systemic problems."

"The fact that they didn't substantiate 16 cases of abuse and the U.S. Attorney's Office did not pursue criminal charges does not mean that nothing happened or that nothing is wrong," Lyall said. "In fact, allegations of verbal and physical abuse are very long-standing."

Lyall said he was also concerned that inspectors did not visit any CBP facilities in Arizona, where this year 8,195 migrant children have been apprehended by agents in the Border Patrol's Tucson and Yuma sectors.

In a statement issued Wednesday, CBP maintained that it is "committed to ensuring that the agency is able to execute its challenging missions while preserving the human rights and dignity of those with whom we come in contact. ... All allegations of misconduct are taken seriously, and if warranted, referred for appropriate investigative and/or disciplinary action to be taken.